I'm surprised how grimy and shop-worn most of the surfaces are in there.. I get the fact that it had been in service for nearly 3 decades, but you'd think someone would wipe down the thing with some windex and a lint-free rag once in a while..

The "Bob switch" is an example of compensating for the fact that the space shuttle control panels were designed with the intention that crews would not wear pressure suits, except for the first four test flights which used Columbia outfitted with two ejection seats and a lot of other equipment the other orbiters wouldn't have.

Looks like the typical MIL-STD-1472 interface to me. The switches are designed that way on purpose. Certain things you do not want displayed on the glass that were designed from the beginning to be dumb/analog. The more you convert stuff to digital software the more things go wrong because of poor coding and requirements flow down when going from analog to digital. As the number of bits gets ad channels get larger the more things will go wrong because of unforseen conditions and poor testing. A simple analog switch does not have that problem. It is very hard to go from an old analog design to a pure digital cockpit. System architecture usually prevents this because there would be massive rework to sensors and components from providing a simple 5VDC/28VDC and ground signals to a digital bit. That is why I think the next generation spacecraft (I am looking at you Dragon) will be amazing to fly. All those switches for tank valves, guidance computers and even circuit breakers will be digital.

Looks like the typical MIL-STD-1472 interface to me. The switches are designed that way on purpose. Certain things you do not want displayed on the glass that were designed from the beginning to be dumb/analog. The more you convert stuff to digital software the more things go wrong because of poor coding and requirements flow down when going from analog to digital. As the number of bits gets ad channels get larger the more things will go wrong because of unforseen conditions and poor testing. A simple analog switch does not have that problem. It is very hard to go from an old analog design to a pure digital cockpit. System architecture usually prevents this because there would be massive rework to sensors and components from providing a simple 5VDC/28VDC and ground signals to a digital bit. That is why I think the next generation spacecraft (I am looking at you Dragon) will be amazing to fly. All those switches for tank valves, guidance computers and even circuit breakers will be digital.

My father-in-law works for a company that makes switches and indicator lights and it is very strict. Switches cannot be accidentally toggled or have some kind of middle part like a typical light switch. Indicator lights have to be visible when lit or invisible when unlit in direct sunlight. A typical car's dashboard is a perfect example of what an indicator light should not be like.

Some things that are high tech appear that way since people have made generation after generation of them, continually improving them, like walkmen-type things; we've only make one generation of space shuttles, so far.

I attended the high-school level camp at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL in 1989. Campers assigned to be astronauts would spend the better part of 24 hours inside a full-size space shuttle crew cabin mockup. It was originally built for filming the "real" space scenes in the 1986 movie SpaceCamp and looked pretty accurate, complete with the mid-deck toilet which has a scene in the movie. The camp counsellors took time to make sure everyone understood that the toilet was NOT real, not hooked up to anything, and they didn't want to have to clean it again. Please exit the shuttle through the crew hatch and use the real bathroom in the building when needed.

Nem Wan:I attended the high-school level camp at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL in 1989. Campers assigned to be astronauts would spend the better part of 24 hours inside a full-size space shuttle crew cabin mockup. It was originally built for filming the "real" space scenes in the 1986 movie SpaceCamp and looked pretty accurate, complete with the mid-deck toilet which has a scene in the movie. The camp counsellors took time to make sure everyone understood that the toilet was NOT real, not hooked up to anything, and they didn't want to have to clean it again. Please exit the shuttle through the crew hatch and use the real bathroom in the building when needed.

I did that camp around 1991. I recall that one of the other teams accidentally skipped an important step during their mission. During launch, someone forgot the part where the Shuttle actually, you know, LEAVES THE LAUNCHPAD FOR SPACE. So when they got to the part where they released the external rockets and fuel tank, they were technically still sitting on the launchpad. Twenty years later and the image of that in my mind still makes me laugh.

I bombed the freaking test they give you on the first day to decide what you'll do during your "mission," and I ended up stuck in mission control, which pissed me off since my grandfather was an engineer in the Shuttle program and I actually knew quite a bit about it. I wanted to be at the Shuttle controls so badly.

As part of my work, I was able to see the inside of the shuttle while they were still in use. It was amazing and something I'll never forget. But after taking it all in the first hour I was in the flight deck, I asked the worker there (forgot for the life of me what their official title is/was) what the red circles with punched out holes were - he said they were for fire extinguisher access in case any of the electrical wiring caught fire. Just insert nozzle and go. Seeing as how almost all of the ones I saw had been punched, I asked if that was a common occurrence. He laughed and said that no, it wasn't, just that the astronauts loved poking them with their fingers. Thought that was pretty funny.

otiosa:As part of my work, I was able to see the inside of the shuttle while they were still in use. It was amazing and something I'll never forget. But after taking it all in the first hour I was in the flight deck, I asked the worker there (forgot for the life of me what their official title is/was) what the red circles with punched out holes were - he said they were for fire extinguisher access in case any of the electrical wiring caught fire. Just insert nozzle and go. Seeing as how almost all of the ones I saw had been punched, I asked if that was a common occurrence. He laughed and said that no, it wasn't, just that the astronauts loved poking them with their fingers. Thought that was pretty funny.

/yeah I know, CSS (it was cool to me dammit)

Thank you so much for answering the question I hadn't asked! I was wondering about those...

The good thing about low tech is, things don't break as easily and when they do, its MUCH easier to fix.However, I'm guessing that these components only look old. After all, they are just a bunch of switches.